Richard Timu's Story

He nui tangata e heke ana ki te Pô, he iti tangata e kake ana ki te Rangi
(Many fail but few succeed)

May 17th 2005 was another day and was stretching in the morning then had shooting pains in my chest. I shouldn’t have smoked those cigars that weekend and went to the shower. The next memory was when I woke up in the floor with a numbing sensation. I could hear the heart was beating and chest breathing and wanted to open the door but it was too far away to touch. Eventually my right hand side could move in front of my eyes so tried to drag towards to the door. Wasn’t confused or upset just like a half life and could see everything but didn’t know what was happening.

I was still on the floor and luckily my girlfriend Samantha (now wife) appeared and laughed curiously about horizontal rather than vertical. She was asking questions and I didn’t know what she was talking about. She helped me up and the right hand side was ok but the LHS was hopeless. She rang 999 and two paramedics arrived, gave an oxygen mask and asked questions but the mask smelt of burnt plastic and so up my nose I regurgitated a vibrant yellow spray, quite impressive. Afterwards still remember bits of pieces but everything was just an echo such as chameleonic faces, the noise of the ambulance and all sorts of voices.

Arrived at St Georges, Tooting and Samantha signed the documentation with a new clot buster and it worked. Luckily I could move just didn’t know what was happening. People were like static noise and my ear switched to the wrong radio station. The staff at St George was great and kept me smiling then two Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) evaluated my aphasia and moved to Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre, Wimbledon. Was so keen to start again and get back into it but the SALT’s only gave five hours a week. So frustrated & grumpy the zombie just wanted to go home. Although Samantha, her parents and my family was very supportive but the whole issue with the brain was gridlocked. I used to read The Guardian and Times daily to see both points of view and suddenly couldn’t recognise the words. I could still solve the Sudoku puzzles but didn’t even bloody read The Sun.

After the first two months I put one foot forward, three back, two left shoes with one in a cowpat, the other in a coffin. Also, had to wait three months for a NHS SALT hence angry, frustrated etc etc ... then Marc Boella arrived.

He was Samantha’s godfather and a software developer who lassoed me. Marc researched the aphasia issues and kick started to unravel the aphasiaghetti. He gave lessons, homework and after a month nudged me in the right direction. As Oscar Wilde said …” We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

That was the first goal. I’m currently working and every now and then I hit the wall. However most people need a special interpreter with my kiwi lingo. Nearly every Friday I have a stroke club at a local and an anniversary every May and reflect how life changes yet always remember what Apirana Ngata said:

Te tiro atu to kanohi ki tairawhiti ana tera whiti te ra kite ataata ka hinga ki muri kia koe
(Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you)

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